193 Bangladeshi Americans slam 6 US congressmen’s claims about minority communities as 'false and misleading'

A group of 193 Bangladeshi Americans has issued a rebuttal demanding the withdrawal of six US congressmen's stance on the state of minority communities in Bangladesh under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

They said the letter written by the US congressmen contains false and misleading information which would exacerbate the plights of minorities in Bangladesh, according to a press release, dated 14 June (Tuesday).

"We, the undersigned Bangladeshi Americans, request the congressmen to withdraw the false information from the letter. The wrong information would not only undermine the credibility of the congressmen's stance on Bangladesh minority rights but also jeopardise the security and safety of the undersigned Bangladeshi Americans. The worst, all the false statements would exacerbate the plights of minorities in Bangladesh," the statement reads.

Noting that the Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist leaders in Bangladesh have rejected the claims as "categorically false", they warned that the misleading claims would hide the real culprits who might be trying to win the 2024 Bangladesh election by feeding wrong information to US lawmakers.

The 193 signatories called the letter written to President Joe Biden "concerning and detrimental" to the Bangladeshi minority communities.    

In support of their claim, they presented the Population and Housing Census report of 2022 where the percentage growth of the Hindu population from 2011-2022 has been shown to be the highest (6.7%) since 1991.

They further stated that the groups responsible for violence against minorities and terrorist attacks in Bangladesh may be feeding misinformation aimed at election engineering to bring the perpetrators in power.

In the letter, they urged the congressmen to withdraw their statement for the safety, and wellness of the Bangladeshi minorities and Bangladeshi Americans who have been actively fighting for minority rights in Bangladesh for decades.
 
Earlier, Six US congressmen brought allegations of human rights violations against the current Bangladesh government and called on President Joe Biden to take action to create opportunities for free and fair parliamentary elections in the country.

"We request urgent action to stop the human rights abuses by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazad of Bangladesh, and to give the people of Bangladesh the best possible chance for free and fair parliamentary elections to be scheduled this fall," read the letter, published by Bob Good, one of the six congressmen, on his official website on Friday (2 June).

Along with Good, Congressmen Scott Perry, Barry Moore, Tim Burchett, Warren Davidson and Keith Self signed the letter. All six congressmen belong to the Republican Party.

"Since Sheikh Hasina's rise to power, the Hindu population has been halved. Looting and burning of households, destruction of temples and religious idols, murder, rape, and forced religious conversion are causing Hindus to flee Bangladesh," the letter said.

The six US congressmen further said in the letter: "Sheikh Hasina's government also has persecuted Bangladesh's minority Christian population burning and looting places of worship, jailing pastors, and breaking up families when religious conversion occurs."